Today's been a pretty good day for the most part. Did one sample at work (there were a ton of Daphnia! ahh...) and had some fun chitchat times with Sara and Freya (who came and unintentionally distracted us from our work). Freya's getting this really Cuuute puppy from the Trenton animal shelter, aww, I want a puppy! Actually, on the way home I was discussing this with Sara as she wants a puppy someday as well. Neither of us have ever had dogs but want one. I'm hoping to get one during grad school, but maybe two that get along well and don't need a ton of exercise so they will at least have company while I am gone to class/work and such. Well, I'm trying not to get ahead of myself here. So...
Lunch: Sara, Ann and I got bagel and deli...and it took a Lot longer than expected so when we brought it back we had like 15 minutes to eat it before we had to head out to Acton. It was rushed....but delicious!
Electroshocking: Pretty fun. I mean, I'm not a huge fan of handling fish and such but I think it went well. I had a litle bit of trouble netting the stunned fish out of the water quick enough before they drifted back down but I did learn about some fish! I've gotten better at identifying Bluegill, Crappie, Catfish (duh), Longears, Gizzard shad (!!!), Golden-something..., Saugeye (really cool hybrid of Sauger and Walleye--apparently delicious), Redhorse, etc. I had trouble with any of the fish that had spikes (apart from the bluegill)...Sigh. I'm just not a fish person I suppose. Anyway, it was a really neat experience! I did not smell nearly as much as I thought I would especially as the morning crew had done extra work thinking us afternoon people would get stormed on. Thankfully, we had beautiful (if not perfect) weather for electroshocking. Cloudy (so I can see), perfect temperature, etc. I wish I could've taken pictures (my dad wanted me to) but the work was pretty fast-paced because you had to work fast to 1) be nice to the fish, 2) try to get to them before they are conscious again, 3) net them before they sink, etc. Poor Kelley has a few battle wounds from this one ...Redhorse? I think it had spines...Anyway, it got stuck in the net and she spent like 5 minutes trying to get it out and it got her a few times. Aw. Props to her, I didn't like any spiney fish. They made me nervous. I'm such a girl. Sigh. I need more fish experienced probably.
It makes my day better that I can see well today! for a couple of days I've had dry eyes or something so I've been wearing glasses. I would not have enjoyed electroshocking with glasses at all. I mean I took my contacts out now that I've come home to give them a rest just in case they're not totally recovered but still.
Oh, and I talked with Kelley about the grad school stuff and how her experience of applying went...pretty insightful I think. I'm somewhat comforted and it's now just a matter of getting myself motivated to do things.
Sigh. I feel much more relaxed now. I pampered myself with foodscrubs, shower, face mask, etc. That Acton water made me feel gross, especially with the slimier fish and getting water splashed upon me. I would've felt more gross if Sara had accidentally smacked me with one of the huge nets (that are WAYYY bigger than me). Apparently she nearly smacked me with the pole a few times but I must've barely missed it each time without even noticing.
Now I'm not sure what I should do with myself. I don't feel particularly lively because I've gotten a good deal of exercise and I don't want to spend a lot. There's also a lot for me to think about, but for now I'm going to try to relax.
Have a good weekend, everybody!
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